Rumor Has It
by BabyWard
Summary: Bella is unhappy in her relationship with Edward. She goes to her best friend, Emmett, for support in her break up. Emmett takes her in and protects her from Edward, but that protection stirs feelings inside them they cannot ignore. Lemon warning. Pickapic entry 2012.


RUMOR HAS IT

"Edward, I'm leaving you." I tried to sound as confident and sure as I could. I wanted him to understand I was being serious, that we were over.

I watched myself in the mirror, checking my facial expressions, determined that there would be no way he could misinterpret me. With a deep sigh I sagged, my shoulders dropped, back curved, and head bowed. I walked away from my reflection and prepared myself for when he got home.

At exactly six I heard his key in the lock, and he was home. I forced myself to stand tall and look confident.

"Hi, Bella. I have had the worst day ever."

I cringed as he tossed his briefcase on the couch and collapsed next to it, his day was about to get worse.

"I made dinner, would you like some?" I turned away from him to go to the kitchen, no longer confident my show of strength would hold. After several deep breaths, and an inner pep-talk that boarded on abusive, I took the plates out to the living room.

"You cooked my favorite? What have I done to deserve this?" he smiled at me, cheering up completely. "You are the best girlfriend, ever."

I tried to smile back at him. To me the smile felt forced, fake, and screamed 'guess what I have to say', but it seemed to pass his inspection. I played with my food as he ate, unable to fit anything in my stomach around the tornado of nervous butterflies.

"We need to talk," I said nervously when I had cleared the plates away. I quickly cleared my throat, the gravel in my voice not helping me look composed. I squared my shoulders, straightened my back, and turned to look him in the eye. "Edward, I'm leaving you."

He rolled his eyes and sighed, not the reaction I had expected. "Not this again," he said. "What have I done this time?"

"You haven't done anything." I felt my posture slipping under the weight of my emotions.

"Okay, I will do what ever you want me to do, but it can wait until tomorrow, I have had a hard week and I need to rest tonight." He clicked on the TV as he talked.

"Edward, listen to me. You haven't done anything wrong, I just think it is time for us to take a break."

"A break? For how long?"

"Um, indefinitely."

I watched as he processed what I had said.

"No. We have been through this before. Every time I do something wrong, or I don't do what you want, you say you are going to leave me. Just tell me what to do and then we can watch TV together."

Frustrated tears started running down my face. "No, this time it is for real. We have been together for a long time..."

"Five years..."

"Yes, and I think it is time to got our separate ways." I let out a sob then quickly pulled myself together.

"You want to throw away the last five years? Like they meant nothing?"

"No, Edward, I will never regret being with you. But I think we have changed, we have grown apart. It is time."

"Where will you go?"

My body finally sagged as I realized I hadn't planned this as well as I had thought. I didn't have a plan beyond telling him.

"Bella," he said, sounding exasperated. "Let's just go to bed. In the morning you will feel better, and we can forget about this."

"No, I have made up my mind, I'm going." I stood up, picked up my keys and handbag, and walked out the door.

I managed to walk to the end of the hall and into the elevator before I lost it. By the time I got to the ground floor I was curled up in the corner, balling my eyes out, no strength to stand. After several minutes I managed to control my breathing and stand up, but the tears continued to fall. I stumbled my way to my car and sat in the driver's seat, my forehead on the steering wheel.

Half an hour later the tears dried up and I had to make a decision about where I was going. The only place I could think of was my best friend's house. I drove there and was relieved to see the lights on, signaling he was home.

"Emmett," I said as he opened the door. The tears came back, followed by sobbing and a lot of snot, making it impossible to speak. Luckily Emmett took me in with no explanation needed, showed me to the guest room en-suite bathroom and left me for a while. When I had composed myself and splashed water on my face I went and found him in the kitchen.

"Hey, BB. How are you doing?"

"I'm sorry for turning up without calling. I didn't know where else to go."

"Don't mention it. I have always said you are welcome here anytime, and for however long you need."

Emmett always seemed to know what I needed to hear.

"It might be a while, I left Edward." I hiccuped slightly.

"Oh, BB, I'm sorry. Come here."

I folded into his arms, comforted by the warmth, strength, and familiarity I felt coming from him. We sat like that for a while, until he went to make me a hot drink.

After we had the drink I excused myself, exhausted after my ordeal.

The next morning I woke to the smell of bacon cooking. Emmett put toast,eggs and bacon on a plate as I walked into the kitchen.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked, concern written on his face.

"Better. Relieved actually."

"Yeah?" I could tell he wanted details, but he also didn't want to push me and upset me.

"Yeah. It has been a long time coming. I think we have been over for a while now, it's just that neither of us had the balls to actually leave."

"Okay. Do you need anything?"

"Clothes." I looked down at myself, still in the clothes I had been wearing the night before, now crinkled from being slept in.

"Yeah, I wasn't going to say anything, but the just out of bed look is only good for hair."

We both laughed and it felt good. Being around Emmett was the best thing for me, he would help me heal.

Emmett had been my friend since kindergarten, where I had been the smallest kid, and he the biggest. It had been true that opposites attract, but then we found that we were actually very similar, we even used to joke about being long lost twins, which got us strange looks from some people. He had become like my brother, and I was easily preferred over his bitch of an older sister.

"You can borrow my clothes until you get some of your own," Emmett offered.

"I better get some soon, then, I don't want to become know an circus tent lady."

He laughed as he cleared the table, bumping me gently with his hip as he went past.

I went to shower, and dug the smallest tshirt and shorts I could find out of his drawers to wear.

"You are not getting any of my underwear," he said as he watched me search his room in vain for something smaller than extra large.

"Yuck, I wouldn't want any. There is no knowing what I could catch."

Two hours later we sat in his truck outside my apartment building. I had developed nervous shivers during the drive and Emmett wasn't letting me go up until I had calmed down. He forced me to go over all my reasons for leaving, interrogating me if they sounded weak, until I was felling sure of myself again.

"I trust you to know what you need and want," he said just before he let me go. "And I know you well enough to see that you need to do this. I will not let you go back to him just to avoid a difficult situation. When you are back to normal, after a break, I will let you go back to him if you want. But not now, not when you are so fragile."

I nodded, unable to put into words how grateful I was to him, how happy I was to have someone caring for me with my best interests at heart.

"Now go get your stuff, I can't wait to have some girly stuff prettying up my bachelor pad."

I laughed as he rolled his eyes.

"I will be here if you need me," he said, touching my arm reassuringly.

"Thanks, Emmett, I will be fine."

"I know, I meant help with carrying all your crap, and the giant TV."

"Emmett, I am getting clothes and essentials, not the TV."

I shut the door on his whining.

Edward was not in the apartment when I got there and I managed to pack three bags in peace. Unfortunately he arrived just as I was about to lug everything down to the truck.

"Bella, you are back," he rushed at me and wrapped himself around me.

I patted him awkwardly on the back, not wanting to feel anything for him while I was so fragile.

"I am so glad you are here. Come look, I replaced the light bulb in the spare room, and fixed the bathroom cupboard, and the repair man is coming on Monday to fix the wifi."

His excitement died when he saw the bags sitting in the corner.

"Oh, Bella, please no. You cannot leave me." He was on the verge of begging, almost dropping to his knees in front of me.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I am going, I will come get the rest of my stuff another day."

"No, you can't do this. Don't do this to us. I still love you and you love me."

"There hasn't been an 'us' for a long time, but yes, I love you, I always will."

"Well stay. Stay with me, we can make it work."

"No," I said, still sounding firm, holding onto the strength Emmett had established in me. "I can't do it anymore, I need to go."

I started towards the door but he held me back.

"I need to know where you are staying." He said.

I hesitated, not sure if I should tell him, worried that he might cause trouble for Emmett.

"At Emmett's," I said quietly, unable to resist his pleading eyes.

The anger washed red over his face. "Why are you staying with that fucker?"

Edward had always hated Emmett, unable to accept that my best friend was a male. Every time we spent time with him, Edward would be jealous for days and try to bad-mouth him. But he always backed down eventually, resigning himself, waiting for the next time, hoping Emmett would do something wrong.

"He is my best friend. He has taken me in when I needed him the most. You can't tell me where I find comfort."

"I bet he is very comforting, he just loves to hug you, and now he can as much as he wants." Edward's face contorted into an ugly sneer. "He was always touching you, trying to take you from me."

"That's enough, Edward. Emmett is like my brother. Just because he hugs me, doesn't mean anything."

Edward scoffed. "And the kisses, and holding hands. Everyone always commented that you were very close, there were rumors that we had an arrangement. So fucking embarrassing."

"Well, guess what. You don't have to be worried about being embarrassed by me anymore, I'm gone, and I'm never coming back."

With that I stormed out with my bags. I dumped them in the back of Emmett's truck and slammed the door as I slumped in the seat.

"Just get me out of here," I said, cutting off his questioning before he could start.

He drove, carried my bags to my new room, and left me alone, all in silence.

After a few hours quiet meditation I went to find him and told him what happened.

"I'm so sorry, BB," he said, pulling me in for another hug. "I should have been there to help, I could have punched his lights out."

"No, I'm glad it happened, I have even more reason to leave him now. I don't think I will ever go back."

"Okay, but keep an open mind. You don't know how you will feel in a month or two."

We sat in silence for a while, sipping hot chocolate, and processing our thoughts.

"I am going to suggest something," Emmett said eventually. "It is a serious suggestion if you like it, but if you don't, I'm only joking. Okay?"

I looked at him and nodded, waiting for one of his crazy ideas, like the time he suggested we bury our parents' wallets and make them go on a real treasure hunt. It had been a pity that we forgot where they were buried, and our map wasn't very helpful because it was a map of Washington with a cross over Seattle.

"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath. "You need a way of convincing Edward it is over, and something that will make him leave you alone."

I nodded and watched as he wrung his hands nervously.

"So the best thing will be if you tell him you have moved on, to someone else."

I nodded again, frowning as I thought, I could see that this idea had some merit.

"I think that will possibly make him more determined to get you back, jealousy and everything," Emmett continued, showing a greater knowledge of Edward than I thought he had. "So you need to move on with someone who he knows he has no chance against, and someone who will make him so angry he will hate you."

"I don't want him to hate me," I said, shocked by his words.

"No, I know, but if he hates you for a while, that will give you time to decide what you want. And if you decide to go back to him you can say it wasn't real. And if if you decide you don't want to go back, you won't care if he hates you, or you can try to make it up to him."

"Okay, it sounds good. But who do you think it should be?"

I realized the obvious answer at the same time as he muttered it. "Me."

"We can't do that. It sounds like a good plan, but I wouldn't be able to do it. Thank you for trying to help though."

He grinned sheepishly. "It's alright, it was only a joke anyway."

I knew it hadn't been, he was just covering his embarrassment. I kissed his cheek to show my understanding, and excused myself to get some sleep.

At some early hour of the morning there was someone banging at the door, I rushed out to see what was going on and found Edward, with Emmett's arm wrapped around his neck, slowly turning blue.

"Emmett," I yelled. "Let him go."

He did so, and stood in front of me, ready to jump on Edward again if he needed to.

"He tried to punch me," he muttered out the corner of his mouth.

"Are you alright?" I asked, pulling him round to face me, checking for damage.

"He missed, he's been drinking."

We both turned to face Edward and he cowered under our glares.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I want you back, and this mother-fucker can't stop me." Edward stumbled over the insult and jumped back a step as Emmett faked a step towards him.

I held Emmett's arm so he wouldn't go any further. "Let's go inside and talk," I said to both of them and they followed me like good little boys.

"Emmett, go make some coffee," I said and raised my eyebrows at him when he started to grumble. "Edward, I am not ready to come back to you, it has only been one day, you need to give me space and time."

"I don't want to, I need you with me, in my bed. How can I try to fix things if you aren't there? Please, come with me, come home."

I shook my head. I had said everything I could, and he still didn't believe we were over. I racked my brains for something to convince him.

"I'm with Emmett."

"I know, but I want you to come home." Edward misunderstood what I was saying.

"No, Emmett and I, we are together."

There was silence as he stared at me. My eyes, wide with shock that I had said it, couldn't look away from his face, like I was looking at a car crash, unable to look away from the horror. He looked to the door behind me then his face crumpled.

"I knew it," he muttered, devastation obvious in his voice.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Emmett standing behind me, comforting me as he always did.

Edward silently got up and left, not looking back at us. I waited for the tears and sobbing, but all that came was relief.

"Well done, BB. I'm glad you decided to try my idea."

"I thought you told me you were joking," I said, trying to joke about it, but the situation wasn't conducive to laughter.

The next afternoon I got a text message I hadn't expected. I had just started to relax, ready to continue my life alone, ready to find myself.

I don't believe you are with him. He is like your brother, you would never go there. When you are ready come home, I will be waiting. I love you so much, forever. Edward

Frustrated tears ran down my face as I realized it wasn't over, that I would have to continue to fight for my freedom.

"What's wrong, BB?" I handed him my phone silently. "Shit," he said when he had read the message.

"Yeah, I don't know what to do, I just want to be left alone."

"We need to take it to the next level."

I looked up at him and he wiped the tears off my cheeks with his fingers.

"Remember the deal, if you don't like it, I'm joking. We need some PDA."

"Okay," I said almost instantly. I didn't want to have to do that with my best friend, but I was desperate enough to go for it. "When and where?"

"Now," he said, surprising me. "You are not going to like this, Edward has been sitting outside in his car all morning."

I forced myself not to look out the window as fear curled in my stomach.

"Why?"

"I don't know," Emmett said, patting my hand comfortingly. "He probably wants to talk to you, and he is waiting for you to leave."

We sat in silence as I thought. Emmett started wringing his hands nervously, waiting for me to make a move.

"Right," I said steeling myself. "Let's do this. We can walk to the park down the road, he will follow us, we can put on a show, and this will be over."

Emmett nodded and we walked out the front door holding hands. It felt normal at first, holding hands with my friend like we had done countless times before. But then we sat down on a bench in the sun and Emmett pulled me onto his lap.

"You need to relax," he said as he rubbed my back.

I nodded and leant my forehead against his, breathing heavily, trying to convince my muscles to unclench and my chest to loosen.

"There you go," he said as I got myself under control and leaned against him. "Now we need to sell this shit." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as I smiled at him.

"Thank you for doing this," I whispered. "You are such a good friend."

"Shh," he said and rubbed his thumb over my lips. "Don't think too hard about it."

I nodded and kissed the pad of his thumb on its second pass. Emmett focused his eyes down to my lips and I watched as his pupils dilated, he had always been a great actor, always able to live any part he was given. I had seen it countless times on stage, and when we had done something naughty we couldn't own up to.

I leant forward, gently touching my lips to his. He was soft and warm, and our lips fit perfectly together, my bottom lip sitting between his. I pulled back to check his reaction, hoping he hadn't changed his mind about helping me. Almost instantly he pulled me back, his hand going to the back of my head and tangling in my hair.

Our mouths met again and he sucked on my bottom lip. I opened for him and he turned his head to get closer. I instinctively smiled as his tongue slid against mine and our teeth clashed.

"Sorry," I said as we separated.

"Don't apologize, BB." We were both slightly breathless and I could feel my heart beating hard.

He leant in to kiss my lips then trailed his lips down my neck, nuzzling into me under my hair.

"Are you ready to go home now?" he said quietly.

I nodded and he looked up at me.

"Remember to sell it," he said as he leant in for another quick kiss.

I walked back to Emmett's house, tucked under his arm. I kept my eyes focused on his face, unable to trust myself to not look around, checking for Edward.

As soon as we were inside I let go of him and collapsed on the couch. He left me to it, shutting the door to his room behind him.

I felt mentally and physically exhausted but there was something deep down, niggling me, trying to get my attention. As I started preparing dinner I finally managed to see what it was. I had enjoyed kissing Emmett. I had enjoyed it a lot more than I should have.

I felt a strange mixture of excitement and dread. The feelings stirring inside me were foreign, not even feelings I had felt for Edward. I had always loved Emmett, but those feelings were changing suddenly, into something that could destroy us, or cement our bond forever.

When dinner was ready I went to get Emmett. He was curled up on his bed, fast asleep, the peaceful expression on his face that I had always admired during our frequent slumber parties.

I stood and watched him for a while, debating with myself if I should disturb him or not. I decided to leave him, and went to cover his plate for later. As I ate by myself I analyzed my choice to not disturb him. I couldn't help comparing it to my thoughts of changing our relationship, and how disturbing it would be to both of us if we didn't end well. I cared too much to do that to him, I had to keep my feelings to myself.

When he finally emerged late in the evening I found it too hard to be around him, my newly discovered feelings clambered to be heard.

I went to bed early, and avoided him for days afterward. The only thing keeping me from becoming depressed was my happiness that our show had worked, I hadn't heard from Edward since.

The next weekend was when the avoidance failed. We were both home all day and we both became bored quickly, secluded in our rooms.

"How are you doing?" Emmett said as he sat with me on the couch, carefully keeping a respectable distance.

"Fine, thank you," I replied.

"Would you like to watch a movie?"

"Yeah, something funny please."

I watched as he set one up and returned to the couch. His movements looked jerky and nervous. I felt sad that he wasn't comfortable around me, what happened had changed us for the worse. I needed to get my best friend back.

When he was comfortable I moved next to him, lifted his arm, and snuggled into his side, just like we always sat to watch movies. His chest rose and fell as he took a deep breath and I felt his arm relax over my shoulders. The movie started and I laughed when I saw it was one of his vast children's movie collection.

We watched in silence, trying to relax as we tried to find our comfortable familiarity again.

"Aww," I said when the unicorn was disintegrated and he kissed my head, chuckling.

For the rest of the movie he stroked my hair, curling his fingers to run through the strands. As the credits rolled I sat up and looked at him.

"I like that movie," I said.

"I knew you would."

I looked at him, studying the brown eyes and tightly curled black hair I knew so well. I looked down at his lips, my newfound appreciation for them making me feel warm.

"Bella," he whispered as he leant forward and kissed me gently. I stayed still, unsure what to do, unsure if I should go where I was desperate to go.

"What are you doing?" I asked when he pulled away.

"I can't hold back anymore, I want you." His lips crashed back to mine, no longer gentle.

I melted into him, unable to resist, and moaned into his mouth. He pulled me up and over his lap, my knees on either side of him. I was acutely aware of the sensitivity of my pussy, rubbing on the rough fabric of his jeans.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked as he kissed down my neck.

"Very, you?" he mumbled into my skin.

"No, but I want it."

He took this as his cue to take my clothes off, kissing every piece of skin as it was revealed. Then I helped him with his clothes until we were both standing naked, looking each other over. It wasn't the first time I had seen him naked, that was the reality of being so close there were no secrets or modesty, but I had never seen him hard. I couldn't stop staring at it, even though seeing him through clouds of lust was changing my opinion of the rest of his body.

"You are beautiful," he whispered.

I blushed as I realized he was looking at me as a whole person, not just admiring one part like I was.

"Your cock is big," I said back, making him laugh. "Sorry, I just can't stop looking at it, I have never seen it like that before and it's making me stupid."

"Come here, BB."

I walked to him and he wrapped his arms around me. It felt familiar but different, and a shiver ran through my body as I realized we could never go back, and I didn't want to.

He lifted my chin with a finger and leant down to kiss me. His lips opened at the same time as mine and he lifted me up as our tongues met. He carried me to his bedroom and lay me gently on his bed, shuffling carefully between my legs.

"Sure?" he asked again and I nodded. His smile lit up his eyes and I could feel the happiness radiating off him.

I reached between us and stroked his cock a couple of times, causing him to close his eyes and groan. My hand was stopped by his and he opened his eyes to watch as he pushed into me.

There was a slight burn as he stretched me, which flowed over my body. I could feel sweat forming on my skin as the temperature increased in the room. When he had pushed all the way in he stopped, breathing heavily, and rested his head on my chest.

"Are you alright?" I whispered.

"Yes," he said with a strained voice, nodding his head slightly. "I thought I had prepared myself for this, but I feel like I'm close already."

I rubbed my hand over his shoulders and let him have as much time as he needed, even thought I was desperate for him to start moving.

Finally he took my nipple into his mouth, sucked on it hard, and pulled his cock out of me. With a slow thrust of his hips he filled me again, a muffled moan escaping from his mouth, vibrating through my breast. I felt his tongue on my skin as he moved down my body.

I started to protest when he slipped out of me, but was cut off when his tongue found my clit.

"Shit..." I said as I felt the waves of muscle spasms washing over my body. His tongue stopped circling and traveled down to my entrance, zigzagging as it went. It dipped inside me with a little flick before it was replaced with fingers, curing up to find the spot that would make me come within seconds. He found it effortlessly and my back arched as his mouth found my clit again.

My whole body jerked as the tension came to a head, every muscle in my body lit up, wanting to orgasm. As I came down from my high I opened my eyes and saw Emmett above me, watching me, smiling. I pulled him down to my mouth, and clumsily shoved my tongue into him, searching for his. As our tongues wound around each other his cock penetrated me again and started a fast rhythm of thrusts.

I had to pull back, breaking the kiss, desperate for air. The fire inside me was fueled by the oxygen in my lungs and as his thrusts became irregular another orgasm hit me.

Our heavy breathing filled the room as we tried to recover.

"Wow," I breathed, still trying to comprehend how good sex felt with Emmett.

"Yeah," he said. "Best I have ever had. Well worth the wait."

I nodded as he slid off me and went to wash up. I admired his ass as he walked away, happy in the knowledge that it was mine now. I joined him in the bathroom.

"Regrets?" he asked, watching me as I climbed into the shower.

"None at all," I said as he got in behind me.

"Me either, BB."

* * *

Thank you to Stephanie O, my beta.

©(storyline) 2012 Abbyward


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